The Last Rose of Summer
by Russellonfire
Summary: On a cliff sits a lonely grave, with four simple words engraved in it. But their meaning is far less serious, and far more personal than Ruby expected. Her father explains its true meaning, both sad and joyous. Thus Kindly I Scatter.


At the top of a cliff, wild wheat grew. Its yellow-gold husks glinted in the late afternoon sun, while steaming mists from the late autumn morning shower rolled off and over the edge, having soaked up the last rays of sun. Behind, the woods were verdant and bright, full of birdsong and the hasty rushing of small woodland creatures.

Oblivious to almost all of this, a young girl stood in front of a beautifully kept gravestone, though no grave was below it. The girl wore a red cape that seemed far too big for her, flowing like silk in the breeze. She seemed almost ethereal amongst the mists, but her bright silver eyes, full of memory and melancholy alike, gazed down at the stone, to read the words inscribed upon it.

"Thus Kindly I Scatter" it read.

Ruby Rose had read those words many times, but the meaning had often escaped her. It was simple, yet elegant at the same time. She still did not know their true meaning. But she knew what they meant to her; everything, now. When she had lost her mother, Summer Rose, she was too young to truly understand. But now she was starting to learn what it meant to have lost her. It hurt her to think she wouldn't truly know her mother, or learn from her, or be told how proud her mother was of her.

"Hey Ruby." A mildly gruff voice sounded from behind her. It was warm though, spoken in kindness. It was a voice that, while sometimes distant, tucked her into bed at night, held her when she cried, and kept her close. Her father's voice.

"Hey dad. How long you been there?"

"Not long, just wanted to check on you. Zwei is still running around the forest, so don't worry too much. How you doing?" He spoke cautiously, and with a slight tinge to his voice that she couldn't place, though she could guess. This was hallowed ground to them after all.

"I'm ok dad, thanks. Just... thinking." Ruby finished lamely.

"Oh? What about?" He already knew some of the answer, their place making it obvious to even him.

"Mom. Or her grave, really. I mean, I don't know what the words are, or what they mean, or why they're there, or where you got them or anything like that. I guess I just wanted to know more about them." She spoke quickly, and with energy, albeit muted compared to normal. She looked up when she heard some gentle chuckling, and turned around with visible confusion etched into her face. "What's up? What's funny? Did I say something wrong? Did Yang put something on my back again..."

"No, no," he said, grinning. "But you'll understand." He took a deep breath. "The line comes from your mom's favourite poem, and she after she went back to hunting after you were born, she told me it's what she wanted on her grave. It's about a rose, in late summer. It's not really a happy poem, but I guess it's not really sad either." With that, Taiyang Xiao-Long strode over to the cliff edge, and took a seat, one leg hanging off the edge, the other bent and up, on the cusp itself. He looked out over the horizon, towards Vale. The view here really was amazing, he thought to himself, as Ruby sat next to him, legs swinging under her. He was glad he chose this place.

"So what's with the rose? Is it just because it's he- our last name?" Tai smiled.

"Something like that. You see, the poem is about a gardener or something, who finds just one rose left in the garden. All the others have withered and fallen, and only it stands strong, but alone. So the gardener cuts it, and scatters it so it won't be alone. That's where 'Thus kindly I scatter' comes from. It's also a little bit about letting go, but never forgetting, which we thought was appropriate. But see, your mom had a wicked sense of humour. This poem was kinda meant for you, in case anything happened. We hoped it never would, but, well..." Tai looked out over the channel again.

"Yeah." Ruby said, also looking out, with damper eyes than before. Tai looked back at her with a grin.

"See, the poem is about the last rose, in a garden, during summer. It's called 'The Last Rose of Summer'..." he trailed off, a cheesy grin on his face. Ruby looked thoughtful, then her eyes widened.

"So... it's about me? Because she was Summer, and I'm a Rose? So... I'm the last Rose of Summer?" She looked up at him, before she too started grinning. "That's awful! I mean, it's sweet, but it's so baaaad!" Her dad chuckled at that.

"Where do you think Yang got her puns from? Don't look at me, I'm not that bad! I have a great sense of humour!"

"What, like the time you filled Uncle Qrow's flask with hot sauce? That was so mean!" She said, with a slight look of outrage. Tai laughed, as he put a heavy arm around her.

"Got him to stop drinking for a while didn't it?" Tai snorted as Ruby gasped and gave him a gentle thump, though she still giggled at the memory.

"He guzzled half of it before he realised... then didn't touch it for a week! Not before chasing you across half of Patch though!" Tears were rolling down her cheeks by now, but from mirth rather than melancholy. They sat, giggling together in the golden sunset glow. Zwei trotted up to them at some point, and they started to head home. Ruby looked up at him again.

"Hey dad? What was mom really like? Yang says she was super mom, but I guess I wanted to know what everyone else thought." Ruby asked with apprehension, in cased she triggered a sore point with her dad. He hadn't really coped well, but seemed to have improved. Tai gave a slight sigh.

"She was truly wonderful. She lived up to her name," he said with a small, sad smile. He continued though, clearly enjoying the happier memories. "She was like a true summer, bright and happy and so warm for everyone. A lot of people loved her, and when she came into my life and brought me you... they were some of the happiest days of my life, along with Yang being born. And she'd be proud of you Ruby.

She'd be proud of both of you."

* * *

So I figured I'd do a little wordplay this time around. Gotta have fun sometimes, right?


End file.
